Intellectual Property Law
Chief Judge Rogers Retires from USPTO TTAB

Gerard F. Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge of the USPTO Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, has announced his retirement after serving in that role since 2010. Chief Judge Rogers began his career at the USPTO in December 1987 as a Trademark Examining Attorney, served as a staff attorney for the Assistant Commissioner for Trademarks, and joined the TTAB as an Interlocutory Attorney in 1992. He was named a judge of the TTAB in 1999. Before taking on responsibility for TTAB operations, Chief Judge Rogers spent 10 years serving as one of the board’s judges.
Chief Judge Rogers was always a friend to the IP Section, attending and speaking at many of the Section’s events, and graciously spending time with the delegation of practitioners sent by the Section to Washington, D.C., each year. He was well known for drilling into trademark attorneys that it is not the T-TAB, but is the T.T.A.B. (each letter must be pronounced)! And each year those who practice before the T.T.A.B. would anxiously await the coveted “Advanced Practice Tips from the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board” handout that Chief Rogers oversaw. He was also the 2017 CLA IP Section Judicial Vanguard award winner.
Chief Judge Rogers will be missed, and the IP Section wishes him all the best in his retirement.